It is well known in the art that cushions or other soft seating pads are not only functional in providing increased user comfort, but are also an important decorative feature in a living space. When selecting cushions for use in the home or office, it is important that the cushions embody a balance between utility and aesthetics.
As is especially true for couches, furniture cushions frequently become soiled or worn, creating an unacceptable appearance. Upholstery cleaning products rarely completely remove the stain, and they do nothing for the appearance of worn fabric. A common solution to stains and faded fabric is simply flipping over the cushion; however, oftentimes this will change the feel of the seating because the cushion does not contain the same fill elements on both sides or the fill is not evenly distributed throughout the cushion.
Furthermore, it is uncommon that a single cushion will contain a variety of firmness levels to enhance seating comfort. For instance, a cushion will either be too soft or too hard, or will not offer the correct amount of support for different areas of the body such as the knees or buttocks. Prolonged use of a cushion that offers poor support can result in back and joint pain, neck pain, and increased fatigue. Many cushions that do offer the proper support are unattractive or do not match upholstery fabric or a decorating scheme.
It is therefore desirable to combine utility and aesthetics in a single product by providing a cushion that is both reversible by having uniform comfort characteristics on both the top and bottom surfaces so that there is no perceivable change in comfort when the cushion is flipped over to hide stains or wear and offers a variety of firmness zones while being attractive enough to use on an important piece of furniture.